How Much Is the Social Security Death Benefit?
The Social Security lump-sum death payment is $25542 U.S.C. § 402(i) (Social Security Act § 202(i)), first sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source, paid once to a surviving spouse who was living with the worker or, where there is none, to a spouse or the children entitled to benefits for the month of death, on an application filed within 2 years42 U.S.C. § 402(i), third sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source after the death.
See who receives the death payment
Choose your relationship to the person who died and enter the date of death. The panel shows who the one-time payment goes to, the last day to apply and the monthly survivor benefits beside it.
General information about the federal Social Security survivor benefit rules, not legal or financial advice. The rules are applied as written in the Social Security Act, the regulations and SSA publications to the answers given. The primary insurance amount depends on the worker's earnings record, which is not computed here; a dollar figure is an estimate on the amount entered, before the family maximum.
A one-time lump-sum death payment of $25542 U.S.C. § 402(i) (Social Security Act § 202(i)), first sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source, or three times the worker's primary insurance amount where that is smaller, paid on the death of a worker who was fully or currently insured. It goes to a surviving spouse who was living in the same household at the time of death; where there is none, to a spouse entitled to benefits on the record for the month of death; where there is none, to the children entitled for that month in equal shares. A surviving divorced spouse is not among the payees. An application must be filed within 2 years42 U.S.C. § 402(i), third sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source after the date of death, on Form SSA-8 by phone or at a Social Security office. The lump-sum death payment page sets it out beside the monthly benefits.
An application must be filed within 2 years42 U.S.C. § 402(i), third sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source after the date of death, by or on behalf of the person entitled. No application is needed where the person was already entitled to spouse's benefits on the worker's record for the month before the death. The regulation adds a good-cause rule for a late application and a longer window for certain deaths in uniformed service. SSA states that an application for monthly survivor benefits is also an application for the lump-sum payment.
On Form SSA-8, by calling Social Security or at a local office; an appointment is not required. SSA's lump-sum page also carries an online application behind a my Social Security sign-in. The documents SSA may ask for include a death certificate for the worker and the applicant's own records, in the original or a copy certified by the issuing agency. The $25542 U.S.C. § 402(i) (Social Security Act § 202(i)), first sentenceVerified Oct 26, 2026View source is paid once; it is not a recurring payment, and it cannot be paid to the estate or to a funeral home.
A benefit for the month of death is not payable42 U.S.C. § 402(a) (Social Security Act § 202(a)), last clause of the first sentence; § 402(e)(1)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source: entitlement ends with the month before the month of death, so a payment that arrives for the month of death is returned, through the bank for a direct deposit or by returning an uncashed check. A payment for the month before the death is due, and where it had not been paid it is an amount due the deceased, paid in the statute's order (the surviving spouse who lived in the same household or was entitled on the record, then the children, then the parents, then the estate's legal representative) on Form SSA-1724.
A surviving spouse from age 6042 U.S.C. § 402(q)(1), (q)(6)(A)(iii), (q)(9)(B)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source, from 5042 U.S.C. § 402(e)(1)(B), (e)(4)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source with a qualifying disability, or at any age while caring for the worker's child who is under 1642 U.S.C. § 402(s)(1)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source or disabled; a surviving divorced spouse on the same terms after a marriage of 10 years42 U.S.C. § 416(d)(2), (d)(5)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source immediately before the divorce; an unmarried child under 1842 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1)(A)-(C)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source, a full-time elementary or secondary school student under 1942 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1)(A)-(C)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source, or a child of any age whose disability began before 2242 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1)(A)-(C)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source; and a dependent parent 6242 U.S.C. § 402(h)(1)(A)-(C), (E)Verified Oct 26, 2026View source or older who received at least half of their support from the worker. The worker must have died insured under the Act: fully insured for the spouse's and parent's benefits, fully or currently insured for a child's benefit and the benefit of a spouse caring for a child.
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Loss of a Spouse
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